Haute-Loire has no shortage of atypical towns and the Petites Cités de Caractère label is there to remind you of this. In the department, there are 6 small historic towns of less than 6000 inhabitants, located in exceptional sites to exhibit this label guaranteeing a rich heritage to be preserved and visited.
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Allègre is a small feudal city from the 12the century built around a castle whose remains today have the appearance of a Stem. Built on the sides of the Mont Baury , another old volcano faces it: the Mount Bar. A Strombolian volcano whose crater is today a peat bog rich in great biodiversity. A unique fact in Europe.
Not to be missed around Allègre :
Auzon
Halfway between Clermont-Ferrand and Puy-en-Velay, Auzon is an ancient fortified city dominated by Saint-Laurent Romanesque collegiate church of the XIIe century. In the Middle Ages, Auzon became a major place in Auvergne, attracting large noble families: the Montmorins, the Montravels, the Polignacs.
Numerous remains bear witness to this rich past: a walkway, today Garden of Scents maintained by residents, external fortifications and the Porte de Brugelet, certain towers, narrow cobbled streets as well as a fortified castle, now private property. It is not open to visitors.
Not to be missed around Auzon:
Chilhac
Built on basalt organs overlooking the Allier by 70 m, the small town of Chilhac has no equal. An environment resulting from volcanism and a basalt imprint which give it a very particular charm. Built within a fortified enclosure, Chilhac also has an old castle, a church dedicated to Saint-Honorat dated from the end of the 14th centurye century, but also numerous fossil remains preserved in the local museum.
Chilhac is indeed world-famous in the world of paleontology for the excavations which took place there since 1875 and which uncovered bones of prehistoric animals which lived 2 million years ago, including the most emblematic: the juggernaut of Auvergne.
Not to be missed around Chilhac:
- The gold Rush
- A vintage trip
- Its neighbor Lavoûte-Chilhac
- A ride on the Via Allier
- In white water
- A PR
The Monastier-sur-Gazeille
In the Gazeille valley, Le Monastier was built around a Benedictine monastery which reached its peak in XIe and XIIe centuries. In the center of the monastery, Saint-Chaffe abbey church is a masterpiece of Vellav Romanesque art with its colorful volcanic stones. Inside sits one of the oldest organs in Europe. Dated 1518, it bears the name of its builder: Pascal Lancelot. From this period, all that remains of the instrument today is the windchest and the large abridgement. The instrument having been rebuilt and inaugurated in 1986.
Located on the GR 70 , many walkers pace The Monastier-sur-Gazeille in the footsteps of the famous writer Robert Louis Stevenson whose stone bust adorns the town center. Another famous trail marks Le Monastier, that of Saint-Regis, GR 430, Jesuit preacher of the 17th centurye century.
Not to be missed around Monastier-sur-Gazeille:
- The brass festival
- Bungee jumping and giant zip lines
- A natural resort
- A museum of legends
- A nostalgic museum
- A visit to the farm
Saint-Pal-de-Chalençon
South of the Forez mountains, in the Ance valley, on the border of Puy-de-Dôme, rises a medieval village from which the church and the castle stand out: Saint-Pal-de-Chalençon. Surrounded by 3 fortified gates Flanked by towers, the latter retain machicolations and battlements, transforming the village into an almost impenetrable city. THE medieval castle built in the 12the century and remodeled in the 15the is the only one in the region not to be in ruins.
Finally Saint-Paul church with its beautiful polychrome wooden pietà from the 15th centurye century stands out, as in Puy-en-Velay, thanks to a Black Madonna in the Mantle dated 18th centurye century.
Not to be missed around Saint-Pal-de-Chalencon:
- Sarrou’s favorite mountain bike trail
- Take height
- A PR in hell
- Find out more about Saint-Pal
- Chalencon, perched village
St. Paulien
It is the former capital of Velay! St. Paulien indeed experienced its peak in IIIe century, capital of Gallo-Roman Velay : Ruessium. A city without walls that once prospered. Only a few ancient remains remain: 2 sculpted stones with Latin inscriptions in two houses in the town and 2 military markers.
XIIe century, the village was built around St. George's Church and takes the name of a bishop of the region, Saint-Paulien. In the absence of a feudal castle in the city, it was the church which played the defensive role. Machicoulations above the west entrance and a walkway are still visible. There is indeed a defensive castle in the vicinity of Saint-Paulien, but outside the city: the Rochelambert castle which is part of Passport to Historic Residences. A collective of private castle owners who had the idea of opening their doors to the public.
Not to be missed around Saint-Paulien: